I Quit

Yes, I know. Quitters never win and winners never quit.  As the descendant of generations of non-quitters (see: my mom, my dad, and both sets of grandparents, who all struggled and thrived in the face of adversity I can't even imagine), and the product of many hard-driving coaches like Loranzo "Run 'till you hurl" Alexander, it is not my nature to throw in the proverbial towel.

Things I did not quit even though I really wanted to: high school, college, my horrible dissertation, several horrible jobs, Peace Corps, a half marathon with heat stroke, and a full marathon with a busted knee. Usually it was a good choice. Not always.

But here I am, quitting the 52 dates challenge. With just 10 more to go! What??!?!!  I'm sorry, readers.  I know I'm letting many of you down, but I've been absolutely clobbered by my quest for love.   I really doubt my own judgment these days (who's good? who's for real? who's not?).  And honestly, I just want to roam right now.  "A restless spirit," someone called me today, and it's the truth.

I'm not giving up on love.  If someone fabulous appears, fantastic-- I'll be delighted to meet him.  Until then, I think I'll just be living my life (in New Orleans, this month).

A Good Human

I saw Mr.#42 (formerly known as Mr. #41)  last night. Our mutual friend described him as "a good human," which I think is lovely and accurate. He is honest, open (even when it may not be the most self-interested way to be), funny, and interested in the world. He reads books and cares about his friends. Both of our lives are in a state of flux right now (I'm about to get on the road  to New Orleans, hence the abbreviated post), but if the stars align in such a way that I end up back in New York, this story may continue.

A Contestant in the "Weirdest First Date Activity" Category

Hi from New York! I got into town on Saturday and on Sunday met up with Mr. #41, a friend of a friend (gold star, friend!), for brunch. We had mediocre food but awesome conversation.  Talking to him made me even more excited than usual about my life. His life is also pretty awesome, but he admitted having not only brunch envy (I guess my omelette was less mediocre than his waffles) but life envy when I talked about my upcoming travels. He is a big traveler also, but currently consumed with that very New York activity, finding a new apartment.

Since his new apartment is going to be small, Mr. #41 had post-brunch plans to go Murphy bed shopping. And since we were getting along so famously, he invited me to come along while he visited this place. Weird? Maybe. Awesome? Definitely. Only in New York, kids.

Gold Stars

Date #40 tonight: wine in Burlington.  In keeping with the rule of only positive things in the blog...I am SO happy to be home!

Moving on...

I'm so appreciative of all the support from all my readers and my sweet friends.  One friend in particular has been very enthusiastic about this project and has now set me up with THREE different people. She definitely gets a gold star.

Would you like a gold star, too? Set me up with someone you'd want me to be with. I'm getting a little wary of online dating, especially after a dear old friend recently described it as "the land of broken toys." So I'm putting out a plea to my loyal readers to help me find my last 12 dates.

I have a lot of travel coming up, but would be delighted to go on dates in different cities, and am totally open to the idea of my big love being somewhere I don't necessarily live (location? just a detail, despite what many of you have to say...).

Here's my upcoming schedule:
October 11-20: Vermont
October 20-25: New York, NY
October 25-30: In transit-- contact me for details
October 30-November 21: New Orleans, LA
November 22-24: Williamsburg, VA
November 25-December 4: Detroit, MI
December 5-9ish: San Francisco, CA
December 10-22: Detroit MI

How about it, readers? Who wants a gold star?

Love for a Hobo?

"A hobo wanders and works. A tramp will work. A bum won't work." --My grandfather
"You can have anything you want. You just can't have everything you want." --My mom

Readers, if you've been following me on this journey, you know that I've been living and dating in all different places this year: Detroit, Chapel Hill, Vermont, and soon, New Orleans. I've deliberately designed my work and my life so I can live this way for a little while (not forever! I promise!), and I honestly believe that this is not in conflict with my dream of finding a great love.  In this age of skype and cellphones, where we all have a zillion frequent flyer miles and lightweight laptops, why shouldn't location be, at least for now, just a detail?

I'm starting to question my own logic, and so is Mr. #39 (the nerd again). We met for breakfast this morning, which was delicious (who doesn't love Vermont maple syrup?!!?), but our conversation centered around my next move, and left him looking forlorn and me wondering if my current lifestyle is not conducive to finding love.

What do you think, readers? Can a nomadic lifestyle work in conjunction with real love, or do I only get one or the other?

Nerding Out

Mr. #38 is a huge nerd.

Wait! That's not a bad thing. Only positivity in my blog, remember?

We went out for a mediocre dinner and had a really good conversation about epidemiology (he was impressed that I knew its nickname, "epi"),  survey pre-testing (I'm all about it this month), and academic passions (he has many, I have few).  It was so refreshing to NOT be the nerdiest one around, I might make him #39 as well.

And on that note, here's another picture of sweet Vermont.  I'll be here for another month, if any of my loyal readers want to either visit (!!!) or set me up with a mountain man.

Onward...

Well hello again, readers! I know some of you are surprised to see me, and  disappointed, as was I, that things didn’t work out with this guy. I recently read something about “a failed love affair,” a phrase I really like, because it implies that it’s the affair that was a failure, not me.  Also, I hate the term “back in the saddle,” so please don’t use it.

Anyway, I’m living in Vermont right now…how can I be sad when this is the view I see every day?

Whoa.

Also a Vermont resident: Mr. #37. We met for coffee Friday morning and he introduced me to the term “flat-lander,” which is what Vermonters (like him) call people who are not from Vermont. I like it. He’s really interesting, calm and steady, change-oriented and a big-picture thinker.  Coffee and conversation was such a nice way to start my day, and I learned a few things…

1. I’m not as much of a morning person as I thought (I balked at his suggestion of a 7AM date, and we compromised at 9:30).

2. After 26 months caffeine-free, a latte will leave me buzzing for a good 12 hours.

3.  Getting back in the saddle makes my stomach hurt a little bit. Or maybe I can blame that on the latte too.